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The Georgian-born pianist, Eteri Andjaparidze, was born to a family of prominent musicians in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. She received her first piano lessons from her pianist mother Yvette Bachtadze. Her father, Zurab Andjaparidze (1928-1997), great Georgian tenor, was the leading soloist with the Bolshoi and Tbilisi Operas. Her stepfather, Leonid Oakley (1923-1991), was a renowned Georgian scientist. At age 5, Eteri was enrolled in the Tbilisi Special Music School for Gifted Children (the piano studio of Meri Chavchanidze). By age 9, she debuted in solo recital as well as a soloist with the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra. In 1974, she entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatoire, where she earned her Master's and Doctoral degrees in piano solo and collaborative performance, and pedagogy under the guidance of Vera Gornostaeva, a student of the legendary Heinrich Neuhaus.
Eteri Andjaparidze became the first Soviet pianist to win Grand Prix at the 1976 Montreal International Piano Competition. Two years earlier, when only a 17-year-old high school student, she won Fourth Prize at the Fifth Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. She was the youngest participant in both competitions, which launched her illustrious performing career. In 1992, she relocated to the USA.
Eteri Andjaparidze has gained international recognition as one of the most versatile artists and insightful pedagogues today. Her vast artistic and educational endeavors extend to all branches and styles of the piano repertoire. She has performed on the world's most prestigious concert stages in solo and collaborative recitals, and as a guest soloist with major orchestras, including London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, Russian State Symphony, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and Georgian Symphony, under the baton of Franz-Paul Decker, James DePreist, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Valery Gergiev, Djansug Kakhidze, Michel Plasson, Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Temirkanov, and many others. Highlights of her international festival engagements have included International Keyboard Festival and Institute in New York City, International Festival-Institute at Round Top, PianoSummer at New Paltz, International Piano Symposium, Piano Festival Northwest, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Festival International de Colmar, White Nights, and Russian Winter to name a few. In 1985, she made a historic appearance with Beijing and Shanghai Philharmonic symphony orchestras as the first Soviet artist to tour China following the renewal of the cultural exchange.
Eteri Andjaparidze's discography is released on Naxos, Marco Polo, and Melodiya labels, featuring works of Scarlatti, J.S. Bach, Franz Liszt, Max Reger, Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Lyapunov, Rebikov, Prokofiev, Anderson, Confrey. Her album of Zez Confrey's Piano Music on Naxos American Classics Series received 42nd Grammy Awards nomination in the category "Best Classical Instrumental Soloist Performance w/o Orchestra", and her recording of Prokofiev's Piano Music, Vol. 1, was nominated for Deutsche Schallplattenpries. Her live performances are frequently broadcast on various television and radio programs in the USA and worldwide.
Deeply committed to teaching, Eteri Andjaparidze has conducted numerous master-classes around the world. She is the founder and artistic director of AmerKlavier, a unique model of advanced comprehensive piano performance study designed to raise a multifaceted professional musician through a wide variety of artistic/educational projects. Her AmerKlavier Studio is the first piano performance studio named to the International Steinway Artists roster. She has served as Professor of Piano and Head of the Keyboard Programs at DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, Illinois, and taught at the Moscow and Tbilisi State Conservatoires, and the State University of New York. Her summer appointments as an artist-faculty have included International Keyboard Festival and Institute, New York City; International Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas; PianoSummer at New Paltz, New York; Masterclasses International, Los Angeles; and Festival International de Colmar, France. She presents annual master-classes as a guest faculty at Mannes College Yearlong Festival, New York City, and Tbilisi Sarajishvili State Conservatoire, Georgia, as well as offers specialized private instructions to aspiring pianists. She is also the founder and Artistic Director of The United Sounds of America music festival.
For her distinguished artistic and pedagogical accomplishments and significant contributions to music, performing arts, and culture, Eteri Andjaparidze has garnered International Friendship Order, Order of Honor, and People's Artist of Georgia title. She is currently based in New York City. |
